61.8 RBD Cenex Harvest States Cooperatives, Myrtle Grove Terminal Wharf

Paddler, another landmark leading to the end of your epic journey down the Mississippi River: the last big grainery! This CHS, Inc. grain terminal contains 4 loading spouts and boasts a 6,464,000 bushel capacity. Here grain barges meet grain freighters and the bounty of America’s bosom helps feed the world. CHS Inc. is a Fortune 100 business owned by United States agricultural cooperatives, farmers, ranchers, and thousands of preferred stock holders. Based in St Paul, MN, it owns and operates various food processing and wholesale, farm supply, Cenex brand fuel, financial services and retail businesses, and is a co-owner of Ventura Foods, a vegetable oil processor. It is ranked 1st on the National Bank Cooperative Co-op 100 list of mutuals and cooperatives (ranked by 2012 revenue), and 69th (by 2012 revenue) in the Fortune 500 2013 list of United States corporations.

60 LBD Poverty Point

Possible low bar in low water, but not reliable campsite, goes under above 5NO.

Poverty Point makes for a good picnic site in low/med waters, fine for light weight canoes, kayaks or paddleboards, but could prove to be a difficult shallow bank for any larger vessels. Just below the mile marker you will find a small small muddy bar within an eddying place. Also, possible access to LA highway 39 over the levee through thick thorny vines and shrubs. Just below Poverty Point paddlers will find some broad shallow wetlands that would be great birding, but this place is low and close to the water, and looks like it would be a very difficult place to gain access and remain safe from the waves of passing ships. More exploration needed. Anyone who has more information about this location, please share via comments or email. Thank you!

Poverty Point, on the east bank of the Lower Mississippi, was the site of the first French settlement on the river. Located about 38 miles below the present site of the city of New Orleans, the little fort the French built on Poverty Point was called Fort de la Boulaye, or the Fort of the Mississippi. It lay along a low ridge that Indians had assured Bienville would remain beyond the reach of the great floods. The site is believed to have been about one mile north of the present town of Phoenix, Louisiana. (Braggs)

Camping at the mouths of the Passes and other Gulf Outlets Below Poverty Point

Great campsites on high ground can be located at the mouths of some of the the Passes and other Gulf Outlets, below Poverty Point mile 60. You will discover cleared places perched above the water on muddy shelves, which are sometimes freshly covered with sand, but more often with hardened mud -- and covered with grasses and backed by thick vegetation. At low water you will find these mouths protected by lines of rip rap with breaks in the rock which allow water flow - and paddlers - to pass through. Pick your entrance through the deepest opening and enter the protected waters behind. These unintentional man-made harbors are a rare luxury after dramatic experiences with crashing waves along the otherwise unprotected shores and beaches. The first such possibility is found at Mardi Gras Pass, but watch out for large changes of water level along this stretch of river. (Note: The big container ships might cause a two foot of change, with waves reaching three feet or higher. If your campsite is not over three feet above high tide you had better look elsewhere for better protection!) Other possible campsites at the mouths of passes include, but are no means limited to: Ostrica Pass (24.5 LBD -- controlled by Lock & Dam), Neptune Pass (three openings between 24-23 LBD), Harvey Pass (20 LBD), St. Phillip’s Bend Pass (20 LBD), St. Anne’s Pass (18 LBD), Olga Pass (Three openings near Olga Light 16 LBD), Un-Named Pass at 15.5 LBD, Un-Named Pass at 14.5 LBD, Un-Named Pass at 12.5 LBD, and the mouth of Baptiste Collette Bayou (11.5 LBD). A new Pass opened in 2011 West Bank RBD mile 5 with a beautiful sandy bar and nearby cypress trees (south side of the entrance). Keep reading below for more details.